


This Side of Paradise

by aluinihi



Series: RoyEd Week 2018 [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: M/M, Post-Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Rehabilitation, Roy goes to Resembool, RoyEd Week 2018, also know as city boy goes to countryside, excessive use of the word "gold", for both Roy and Ed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 04:24:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15744249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aluinihi/pseuds/aluinihi
Summary: So he came. Riza forced him, mostly. Shoved him on a train with a one-way ticket and smiled while saying “have a nice trip, sir”. He spent hours staring out of the window and biting the insides of his cheeks. He almost fell while disembarking at the smallest station he’s ever been to.And he almost fell again when he saw Edward Elric.





	This Side of Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my native language, please point me my mistakes!

The city was loud.

 

If one asked Roy Mustang a few weeks ago his opinion on that statement, he would have reacted with indifference. A lot of noise, yes, so what? It was background, fitting to his busy life. However, a temporary blindness changed his perspective. The city was loud and, therefore, chaotic, confusing and startling. The Flame Alchemist remembers jumping to the sound of cars and drunken laughs; people chattering became a hindrance that constantly interrupted his chain of thoughts.

 

Contrary to his hopes, having his vision restored did nothing to alleviate the situation, in fact, seemed to aggravate it. Now, added to the hearing discomfort, Roy’s eyes hurt constantly with the amount of light and colors and _visual information_ that surrounded him. The hypersensitivity somehow made him extremely self-conscious - insecure - and distracted. The constant awareness of his surroundings left him tired and when Roy looked in the mirror he saw a man younger than he felt.

 

It was Dr. Marcoh who said he shouldn’t work for now, that he should rest, find somewhere silent and serene. But it was Alphonse who bugged him into coming to Resembool, insisted so fiercely for Mustang to take one of the Rockbell’s guest rooms.

 

_Resembool is calm, General_ , he said, _and the weather is great this time of the year_.

 

_Granny Pinako thinks a man like you would be of great help,_ he said, _I don’t know with what exactly and Winry just laughs at me when I ask._

 

_Brother says that he’s okay with losing his alchemy_ , he said, _but he still presses his hands together when he thinks no one is looking._

_General, I think Brother is depressed._

 

So he came. Riza forced him, mostly. Shoved him on a train with a one-way ticket and smiled while saying “have a nice trip, sir”. He spent hours staring out of the window and biting the insides of his cheeks. He almost fell while disembarking at the smallest station he’s ever been to.

 

And he almost fell again when he saw Edward Elric.

 

The boy - no, the _young man_ was aging quite finely. One of the arms still thinner than the other, but nothing that diminished his beauty. Skin glowing gracefully thanks to the warm Eastern sun, hair swinging in a stupidly high ponytail like a strand of liquid gold. Squared jaw, broad shoulders and intense eyes, leaving him _oh so deliciously masculine_. When they met at the station, Mustang had to put an effort to not reach out and pull that blessed vision to a tight, crushing embrace. Roy stared instead - _gawked_ , more specifically - and he, the infamous womanizer general, actually felt awkward. Edward grabbed his suitcase, effortless and gracious and _biceps_ , and motioned for him to follow.

 

The walk to the Rockbell’s was long and Roy’s legs seemed unable to work properly.

 

In the next morning, the Elrics went god-knows-where and Mustang slept until 10 am. He joined Pinako Rockbell for a chat over a late cup of coffee, while the young lady Winry polished some pieces of metal. He hadn’t had a good, uninterrupted night of sleep in what seemed years and it was great to not feel guilty for leaving bed after 7.

 

“The countryside is great.” Said Mrs. Rockbell “You people from Central live a life of runners. Here, we’d rather take things slower.”

 

And maybe slowness was exactly what Roy needed.

 

But of course, Edward Elric wouldn’t give him that.

 

They bounded over silly things. Like drinking orange juice every breakfast, favorite books and why do people make their beds if they’ll just mess it up again when the day ends. They fought over even sillier things. Such as who would drive to the market, pasta or steak and _goddamnit, Mustang, no one ever taught you how to hold a hammer?_. Edward would laugh, and that sound, doesn’t matter how loud, was so pleasing that he could hear it for the whole day. So much time spent together made the general brave enough to refer to the blond as a friend. The Flame Alchemist felt like thanking Alphonse for all the times the younger brother forced the older to go outside, which in turn made Edward force Roy to tag along.

 

It wasn’t Edward’s fault, obviously, the bo- _man_ had not chosen to be an object of affection and permanent heartache. Hell, he probably didn’t even know - Mustang liked to think that he was still smooth and composed around the blond, despite his infatuation - and Roy highly doubted that Ed would use his feelings to mock him. But it still felt like a terrible joke when the older Elric decided that the best spot for shirtless push-ups was right in front of Roy. The man had no other option but to avert his eyes to avoid a serious case of dropped jaw and creepy stares. His mind overflowing with the most inappropriate thoughts of sweat-licking and hair-braiding and what would feel like to have Edward’s strong - both _flesh_ \- arms around him.

 

It took two weeks for Mustang to realize that his attraction had grown. But it took only one sleepless night to give it the proper name.

 

They sat on the grass, right in front of the house. Ed had smuggled cookies from the jar under the cupboard, and after a bit of pressing, he actually shared a few with the older man. Silence settled between them, and Roy had learned to cherish these quiet, comfortable moments, when the blond’s shoulders relaxed and they both let their guards down.

 

Roy loved the stars. In Central, they were all hidden underneath the brightness of the city, but in here they uncovered themselves. Small white dots covering the sky, a veil of light and shining constellations. The Flame Alchemist sometimes caught himself thinking of, just like a child, reaching out and counting, drawing the luminous patterns with his fingertip.

 

When he looked to his side, Edward was doing that exact thing.

 

“When I was a kid,” begun the blond “my mom used to sit with me and Al to count stars.”

 

Roy didn’t know what to say, so he settled for silence.

 

“I thought it was kinda stupid, y’know, you can’t count the infinity.” He let his arm fall back to the ground, his eyes never leaving the sky. “But I’d just roll with it because Al really liked it and mom laughed when we lost track of our counting.”

 

He was smiling now, and Roy could swear that it outshined every floating fireball that inhabited the space. Edward Elric’s true smile could illuminate a whole city; not as the unpleasantly yellow street lamps, but as a warm spring sun. Edward Elric’s smile sets him on fire in the most natural and non-alchemical way, it makes him burn and burn and if it meant that he could see it every day Roy would gladly be reduced to ashes.

 

“That certainly is an endearing memory to have of your hometown.”

 

Their shoulders bumped slightly and Roy _burns burns burns_.

 

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

 

Ed turned to him and the smile never faltered, but merged into the playful half-smirk that the youth reserved only for Roy.

 

“I hope you got to make some ‘endearing memories’ here too, General.”

 

And Roy just—

 

—lost his breath.

 

Because he was self-aware and hypersensitive and the lights from the sky made golden hair look silver and he was _in love with Edward Elric._

 

And everything went still.

 

Roy slid his tongue over his lips, and he would die before he could miss the way eyes like jewels stared. Pupils dilated, corners of lips pulled upwards and Ed mirrored the act and suddenly it was Roy’s turn to stare.

 

They stood still.

 

“Edward–“

 

“Don’t.” The younger closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Shut up, Mustang, don’t say _shit_.”

 

Exasperation filled Roy’s lungs and fear punched his guts.

 

“Edward, I–“

 

“Please, Roy.” Golden irises were boring into him again, full of hopes and regrets and feelings. “Let’s not ruin this yet.”

 

Roy’s breath hitched.

 

And they stood still.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://aluinihi.tumblr.com/)


End file.
